2027: Lagos NLC, TUC back Hamzat’s gov’ship bid
…We’ll improve Lagos’ developmental trajectory – Hamzat
By Olasunkanmi Akoni
Lagos State Deputy Governor Dr Obafemi Hamzat’s governorship ambition received a significant boost as the leadership of the State Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, and its counterpart, the Trade Union Congress, TUC, expressed their support for his candidacy in the 2027 poll in Lagos.
This comes following earlier endorsements from various stakeholders, including President Bola Tinubu; the Governance Advisory Council, GAC, of the All Progressives Congress, APC; Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, with another APC aspirant, Dr Olajide Adediran, popularly called Jandor, withdrawing from the race to support the consensus candidate; and former Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s congratulatory message on his emergence as the party consensus candidate.
APC state chairman Cornelius Ojelabi, speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly Mudasiru Obasa, and other party chieftains had since endorsed his bid, while a couple of agencies such as “Waste Managers”, the Association of Waste Managers of Nigeria (AWAMN), declared their support for Hamzat.
Recall that Hamzat had earlier picked the nomination form, which was purchased by the leadership of GAC, the highest decision-making organ of the APC in the state following earlier endorsement by the council, led by Prince Tajudeen Olusi.
Also, leaders and members of the APC in Lagos State endorsed the nomination form ahead of the governorship primary for the 2027 governorship elections.
The nomination form was subsequently signed by 120 bona-fide leaders and members of the ruling APC across the 20 Local Government Areas and 37 Local Council Development Areas, LCDA, of the state in line with guidelines.
Meanwhile, during the 2026 World Labour Day celebration, themed “Insecurity, Poverty: Bane of Decent Work”, held at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Onikan, Lagos Island, the union leaders expressed confidence in the candidacy of Hamzat and promised to support his ambition massively in ensuring total victory at the poll.
The state councils of the NLC and TUC had, in January 2023, in a similar fashion, endorsed the Sanwo-Olu/Hamzat ticket for their second term.
According to NLC Chairperson, Lagos Council, Comrade Funmi Sessi, on behalf of the sister union, “Hamzat is loyal, competent, tested and trusted. His victory will ensure continued developmental strides are achieved by successive administrations in the state, particularly Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.”
Sessi, speaking on the welfare of workers in the state, appreciated government efforts but called for an upward review of workers’ remuneration in view of rising inflation and worsening economic conditions.
She noted that inflationary pressures, worsened by global geopolitical tensions, have significantly eroded workers’ purchasing power. While commending the approval of the current minimum wage, she argued that it is no longer sufficient to meet basic needs.
Sessi, therefore, appealed for a review of the minimum wage from ₦85,000 to ₦225,000, stressing that Lagos remains Nigeria’s economic nerve centre, where the cost of transportation, housing, and feeding remains exceptionally high.
Representing Mr Governor on the occasion, Hamzat, who took time to go round the stadium amid cheers from an elated crowd, acknowledged the confidence reposed in him and expressed appreciation for the support, pledging to continue developing Lagos State with integrity.
“We will not let you down…The developmental trajectory will be improved upon in Lagos.”
Sanwo-Olu commended the leadership of the NLC and the TUC for their constructive engagement, noting that while discussions may not always be seamless, government remains committed to open dialogue and sustained collaboration with labour unions.
Instructively, speaking after Tinubu’s endorsement with GAC, Hamzat stated, “These are fathers, they are leaders, they’ve seen a lot of Christmases, they’ve seen a lot of Eid El Kabir, so they have experience, and therefore I’m really, really excited that they brought me here to meet Mr President, and Mr President has blessed us and blessed the decision of GAC.”
Why describing his governorship ambition as “audacious”, Hamzat expressed confidence that his experience as deputy governor has prepared him for the task ahead.
He continued: “Nobody is ready because the assignment is audacious. But what you have is experience. Having served as Deputy Governor of Lagos under Governor Sanwo-Olu, I’ve learned a lot. I know the room. I know where the kitchen is.
“You know, if you want to cook for people and you don’t know the kitchen, it doesn’t matter how good a chef you are; you must know the kitchen.
“So, with God’s blessings and the support of all my fathers here, I really don’t have any fear,” he added.
Hamzat’s strategic, solemn rise to be Lagos’s next gov
It is no longer a speculation on who is likely to succeed incumbent Sanwo-Olu in Lagos following a defining endorsement by the stakeholders. Within the powerful inner circle of the GAC, the custodians of continuity and arbiters of succession, the consensus decision has been firmly sealed on Hamzat. What once lived in the realm of conjecture has now crystallised into a certainty.
Barring any unforeseen, unplanned, or earth-shattering disruption, the standard-bearer of the APC in Lagos State has emerged in Hamzat, a man whose journey to this moment has been characterised not by noise but by discipline, a dint of systemic quiet work.
The path is clear. The momentum is real. The moment is his. At 61, heading to hit 62, Dr Hamzat represents a political technocrat with intellectual weight and administrative precision, a patient strategist in a space where ambition often roars.
Hamzat, twice, at various crossroads, suspended his own gubernatorial aspirations, allowing others to ascend in what analysts best described as a deliberate stoop to conquer, an understanding that in Lagos, timing is everything and loyalty is never forgotten.
The aspirant’s ambition is also considered as payback time based on the crucial role of his father in the early political trajectory of President Bola Tinubu. Hamzat’s late father, Oba Mufutau Olatunji Hamzat, was not merely a participant in Lagos politics; he was a force within it.
Legislator, commissioner for transportation, party leader, and ultimately a monarch in Ogun State from maternal lineage, Oba Hamzat’s influence cut across governance and tradition.
He was crucial among the early pillars that supported the emergence of Bola Tinubu’s senatorial ambition, a feat that still reverberates within the APC’s current power architecture.
In Lagos, it is believed that legacy does not guarantee power, but it opens doors that others may never even find.
Hamzat has been outstanding on loyalty, experience, and preparedness, which counts very much for the office of exalted number one seat in the state.
He is not a stranger to governance; he is a product of it. From his days as commissioner under the Tinubu administration, through his strategic proximity to Babatunde Fashola, both in Lagos and at the federal level, to his current role alongside Sanwo-Olu, his journey reflects over two decades of consistent, high-level public service.
With more than 21 years in governance, across ministries, advisory roles, and executive leadership within Lagos and beyond it.
Few contenders can match that depth. Fewer still can rival its continuity. Add to this his formidable academic pedigree, culminating in a doctorate earned, not bestowed, from a top university abroad and at home, and the portrait becomes unmistakable. Politics is not only about competence; it is also about alignment and popular validation.
On zoning alone, Hamzat stands on firm ground. As a son of Lagos West, the most populous senatorial district, his candidacy satisfies longstanding expectations of rotational balance.
On religion also, he aligns with growing calls within the Muslim community for equitable representation at the highest level of state leadership.
Hamzat is, by every measurable standard, the best man for the job. The structure is receptive; the narrative is compelling.
For political watchers and analysts, Lagos remains what it has always been: a place where certainty is powerful but never absolute.
As of press time, there has not been any formidable opponent from opposition parties, which seem passive and undecided at the moment on flagbearers even as windows to present candidates for positions in line with the guidelines of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, draw near by the day.
